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Research Guides

ENG 1200 Aging, Digital Literacies, and Digital Divides Tofteland-Trampe: Web Sites & Blogs

Use this research guide to discover resources which the library has identified as good places to begin your research for this course.

Web Site Analysis

What's a working paper?

Sometimes your Google search will turn up a document by a government  or non-profit agency called a Working Paper. These are usually preliminary scientific or technical papers created by authors who plan to share them at academic conferences or submit them to a journal for potential publication. These can be a great source of authoritative content. But as always, check the credentials of the author or organization releasing the document. 

Examples:

Deconstructing the Digital Divide: Identfiying the Supply and Demand Factors That Drive Internet Subscription Rates, by Michael J.R. Martin of the Education and Social Stratification Branch of the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Examples of Web Sites & Blogs

How to you locate reputable websites and blogs? Use the guidance provided in the box to the left on Evaluating Websites. When searching the web, look for content from corporate and individual authors who are cited by other reputable sources that you've already checked for accuracy, reliability, and authority. 

"We are Leaving Older Adults Out of the Digital World, from TechCrunch

Internet & the American Life Project, from the Pew Research Center
This is a good example of a non-profit research group focused on investigating topic which impact the American social fabric and economy. Pay attention to bibliographies in research articles that show charts and graphs and investigate those providers, to see if you can find more information. 

Google Home is Leaving Elderly and Disabled Users Behind, blog from Lauren Weinstein

Facebook Ads Can Still Discriminate Women and Older Workers, Despite a Civil Rights Settlement from ProPublica 

The Promises and Perils of Digital Strategies in Achieving Health Equity: Workshop Summary. A Roundtable presentation on a book publilshed in the National Academies Press by the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the U.S. National Library of Medicine

The Library's Role in Bridging the Digital Divide by the Urban Libraries Council